You Live, You Learn: 1: S4 FollowOn
by Seanchaidh
Summary: This was where my fanfiction writing began: with a shortish story that followed on from the cliffhanger ending of series 4, when Ebony came face to face with Zoot in the hotel. Thus it was called "S4 Follow-On": possibly the worst name in history!
1. Chapter 1

S4 Follow-on

Part 1 of the You Live, You Learn Series

Chapter 1

Ebony froze, too stunned to speak.

"What's wrong, Ebony?" Zoot hissed, "Haven't you missed me? Didn't I say I would return? Didn't you hear my messengers? I'll admit, Jaffa was a weak choice, but he believed. Don't you?"

She found her voice: "No. No, it can't be you, you're dead, they burnt you, you can't be here, you can't!"

"Where can't I be Ebony," he replied, "I am everywhere you go. I have returned and you are MINE."

With that word he lunged forward and made a grab for her but, before he could reach her, Ebony turned and ran for the hallway. She screamed Jay's name, thinking if only I can find the others he can't touch me, not with them there. The hall was deserted, so was every room she tried. She stopped running; her side ached. Catching her breath she saw she was alone - Zoot had not followed her. Why? She straightened up, took stock of her surroundings and saw that she was in the corridor leading to the control room; she could even see the door.

"The monitors!" she gasped, "I can find them with the monitors!"

She forced herself to walk forward to the door and cautiously peered through the open crack - the room was empty. She opened the door and walked into the room, carefully closing the door behind her afterwards. The flickering from the monitors told her they were still on. As she walked round to face them she caught her breath with a gasp. Every monitor showed Jay, caught up in a passionate embrace - with AMBER!

"No!" she sobbed.

"Now, now, Ebony," said a familiar voice behind her "surely by now you know that anyone you love turns to Amber."

Ebony slowly turned to face Bray.

"I did and now Jay has too," he taunted, "and so will anyone else you ever love."

"You shouldn't have left Ebony"

She spun round to see Ram behind her, the monitors still showing the flickering picture of Jay and Amber.

"I could have given you everything," Ram continued, "I wanted to take you with me to paradise, but you betrayed me. Now you will have what you've earned through your failing loyalty."

"You were mine once," said Zoot from the side, "Now you will be mine forever!"

Ebony ran for the door but it was now locked. She spun round to face her three tormentors but now there was only Zoot. Only Zoot for eternity! She screamed and fought with the door. She felt arms grab her from behind and struggled to free herself but even as she did so she felt her strength failing. She closed her eyes and sobbed.

"No. No."

--

"Ebony, Ebony," the voice calling her name now was Amber's.

"Leave me alone," Ebony screamed.

"Ebony, it's okay," another familiar voice, Jay's, "It's okay, I'm here, it's all over."

She opened her eyes and stopped struggling. Before her she saw the plain walls of one of the many hotel rooms that Technos had used as holding cells. She looked down and gasped on the desk in front of her there was a computer and a headset. Reality space!

"What happened," she sobbed, her relief now flooding over her in waves: he was here; he was still hers. Her hands grasped Jay's arms, still resting around her shoulders. He moved round to face her.

"Do you remember when we arrived in the city?" he said, "You, me and Amber?"

"Yes."

"When we saw those kids with the headsets and went to investigate?"

"Yes."

"What happened next?"

"I waited for you," Ebony said slowly, her mind struggling to recall, "and Java came to me. She said needed me to help her stop Ram going into reality space forever. She didn't want him to leave her."

"And then?"

"Um," Ebony's brow furrowed in concentration, "I'm not sure. I remember getting back to the mall with you and all that but I can't remember what happened to Java."

"We didn't get back to the mall," said Amber gently, "At least, not with you. When we got back form the headset kids you were gone. We searched for the rest of the day before I persuaded Jay that you might have gone back to mall alone. If not it was still the safest place for us and we would need the others' help in finding you."

"But how..."

"She had the help of a few other Technos we think," Jay answered, "They got a headset on you and everything after that was fed from your own mind and altered by Ram. Once they brought you back here and plugged you into a variation of the paradise program, Ram could see what you were hoping would happen, what you feared most and then change what seamed to be a dream into a nightmare. But it's over now, he's dead."

"Dead?"

"He never fully recovered from that cold you gave him. He had avoided germs so successfully for so long his immune system was just too weak to overcome it."

"After he died," added Amber, "the Technos fell into disarray. Java and Mega both tried to take over but neither could get enough support behind them. They more or less destroyed themselves in the end."

"And the others?" Ebony asked, still wondering why there was only the two of them and her in the room.

"The other mall rats are searching for the ones who were taken," Jay cut in, "I could only tell them so much about where to look, although Mega was more helpful - he never really agreed with Ram taking hostages in the first place. We found Cloe locked into a computer just like you were, but we haven't found Ved yet."

"Come on," said Amber, "let's get you out of here and see who they've found."

--

Having been rescued by her old enemy, Ebony let Amber gently lead her out of the room into the corridor. It was not until they were a few feet out the door that she realised Jay had not followed them.

Still wary from her reality space nightmare, Ebony panicked and ran back into the room. When she entered she stopped short. Jay had the headset on and his face, or what could be seen of it under the headset, had a grim look. Ebony screamed his name and ran forward only to be grabbed and firmly held back by Amber.

"Let me go," she screamed, enraged, "Let me go, you COW!"

"No, Ebony, leave him," Amber shouted above Ebony's screams, "He has to do this."

"Why? Ram's dead, what is there left to do?"

Tears of frustration were beginning to run down Ebony's face.

"Come with me," said Amber, gently, "I'll show you."

Ebony let Amber lead her out, once again, into the hallway. She walked as if in a dream, letting Amber be her eyes and putting her trust totally in the one who had been her enemy for years. As they neared the door of the control room Ebony pulled back panic rising in her throat.

Amber dragged her onward to that selfsame door, in that selfsame position, that had turned her bad dream into a full-blown nightmare. As the door swung half-open a figure, the only one that could be seen in the room at this point, turned. As her eyes focused on Bray's haggard face, Ebony's screams rang out through the hotel.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pride and Lex walked side by side down one of the corridors of the hotel, trying door after door as they went. Some were empty, others locked, a few with one or two unknown faces imprisoned in them, most with batches of headsets or other Techno gear.

When word got out that their leader was dead, any of the Technos that had not been in the thick of the fighting had dispersed quickly and quietly in several directions. Now, the corridors were deserted apart from the pairs of Mall rats and Ecos wandering in search of prisoners. So far only a handful of those whom the Technos had taken had been found, Cloe and Patch's brothers among them. Many of the prisoners had been taken to work camps or laboratories, Mega had told the rescuers, and teams had been sent out to try and retrieve any survivors.

"Let's try in here," Pride whispered.

"I don't know why you whispering," said Lex in full voice, "Any Technos still in the hotel are tied up downstairs. This lot's long gone."

"We don't know that for certain and we don't know what else we might find instead."

Gingerly, Pride eased the door open - all was dark within. As their eyes began to adjust to the light, Lex spotted a light switch and threw it on. The sight that awaited them made both boys catch their breath. The room had, in times long past, been some kind of function suite. Now the full length of it was filled with circles of test subjects, all as pale as death and staring unceasingly off into space.

"There must be dozens in here," gasped Pride.

Lex stood silent, his dark eyes surveying every face in turn that he could see. Slowly he moved forward, in amongst the silent crowds. Pride watched his companion stop at every face and peer into it until, eventually, he disappeared from view behind the supports. A minute elapsed, or perhaps five or more, Pride couldn't tell, before he heard Lex call his name.

"Pride! Pride, come here. Quick!"

As he raced to the source of the cry he saw Lex fighting with some of the framework that held the prisoners on their perch. The young man he was fighting to free was someone Pride did not recognise - someone whom Lex must have known before he joined them in the fight against the chosen.

Without hesitating he raced up and helped detach Lex's friend from the frame. The young man was of a sturdy build, but the tests and the starvation that went with them had rendered him lighter than either of the boys had expected.

Lex cradled the young man's head on his lap and shook him.

"Ryan," he called, "Ryan, can you hear me."

--

At the sound of Ebony's screams, Siva ran round the door to here sister.

"It's okay sis," she said, soothingly, "It's okay, he's real, we all are. Come on now, come on in."

Ebony let her sister lead her into the room, too much in shock to fight. Inside she saw Salene standing in the centre of the room administering to Alice and Mega sitting in front of a monitor. Siva led her sister over to some chairs sitting in front of a line of monitors and deposited her in one of them.

"You're safe now," Siva told her sister as she sat down next to her.

"But Jay..."

"It's okay, we're watching him - look."

Ebony followed her sister's gaze to the monitor screens. All that could be seen was a matrix of orange lines with two dots: one red, one green. Her sister rattled at the keyboard for a bit and the view zoomed in on the green dot then in onto a dark outdoor scene with Jay in the centre.

Dressed in dark clothes that were not of Techno fashion Ebony did not, at first, recognise him. He walked warily through the darkening wilderness. Suddenly he stopped dead and his face paled. Much as he had been shivering before, Ebony could see him start shaking. Jay swerved round, as if hearing a noise behind him, then swerved back again. A mist formed around him, but in the mist, figures moved. One of the figures formed the solid form of a young girl, about Jay's age. Jay gasped when he saw her as if he had been punched in the stomach; Ebony thought she could see tears run down his face. He raised a hand as if to touch the girl's face but the hand passed straight through her chin. He was crying, Ebony was sure of it, she just wasn't sure why.

"It's Grace!" gasped a breathless voice behind her.

--

Ebony glanced round to see Cloe and May hauling a very ill-looking Ved into the room.

"What's happenin'?" said Ved, still looking and sounding very ill.

"He's gone to find Ram," Mega answered from his post at another computer, "Come here, take a look."

"But I thought Ram was dead!" Ebony cried, "You told me he was dead!"

This last remark was directed at Amber, standing over at the monitors on which she had been watching with Bray.

"His body is," she replied, "but his mind is still in the computer system. He has to die there too."

"But he can't..." cut in Ved.

"Ved!" cried Cloe, "I can't believe you are actually still defending him; after all he did to you too!"

"I'm not; I mean he actually can't kill him in reality space. Ram's rigged it so that he's invulnerable and everyone else isn't!"

"No!" Ebony screamed and started for the door. May and Siva grabbed her and sat her back down.

"Let me go!" she screamed, "I have to help him. I've gotta get him out of there!"

"You can't do anything, sis."

"But he'll..." she started sobbing hysterically, "I can't..."

"I could try and help him," murmured Ved.

"How?" asked Mega, "I've already tried everything I can."

"But you've never been in there with him: I have. Get me a headset."

Mega disappeared out a door.

"You can't go in there!" Cloe shouted, "You're too weak!"

"It's the only way. Ram set it up so that he could control it from inside without interference from the real world."

"But Jay's in there already - it only takes one person to access a control panel."

"Cloe, this is a little bit more complicated than that. It is a control panel but it's one that only Ram is meant to be able to find and get into. I know how he works; I'm the only one with a chance of being able to get into it and alter it. Jay couldn't even if we could get a message to him from out here, which we can't. Once I'm in I'll need him there to fight Ram - I'm weak now and couldn't beat him even when I wasn't in this state."

"When you say fight," Amber cut in, "what exactly do you mean?"

"Ram's physical body is dead; whether his mind can survive in the system without it is something we don't know and can't take the chance on finding out. If we want to get rid of Ram we must kill his mind as well as his body."

"Well yeah, but ... how?"

--

Bray had been watching the monitors all this time; now he pulled Amber over, pointed out something on one of the screens and whispered to Amber. Amber turned to Salene. Bray moved in front of the screen and blocked it from Salene's view.

"Salene, how are they doing at the hospital?"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure Amber," the city leader replied, "We've not had any reports for almost an hour, I expect they're busy."

"Why don't we go check," Amber suggested, "We could bring back more first aid stuff at the same time."

"Okay," said Sal warily, wondering why this sudden suggestion, "but I should really be here for any others that are found."

"Oh, I'm sure the others will cope here for a little while without you. You are leader of those in the hospital too, I'm sure they would love to see you and know you're concerned for them.

"Well yes, that's true."

"Let's go then."

The two girls left by one of the side doors and, once the door closed behind them, Bray instantly relaxed and moved from the monitor.

"What's up Bray?" asked Alice suspiciously.

"Ahem," Bray coughed, looking a little pale and worried but smiling, "look who Lex and Pride have found!"

Everyone looked at the monitor. Although Ved and Siva retained the blank looks on their faces when the others gasped, they realised a friend had been found.

"I can't believe it," gasped a stunned Alice, "It's Ryan; Salene will be ecstatic!"

"Will she though?" said Bray.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lex and Pride carried Ryan through the door and laid him out on the table; he was still out cold and white as a sheet.

"Where's Salene?" asked Pride.

"She went to the hospital with Amber," said Bray hastily.

A look of worry passed over Pride's face and he hurriedly asked if the two were okay.

"They're fine. Just checking to see everything's okay at Patch and Dee's end."

"We should really take our friend here down to them."

"No!" cried so many people at once that Pride was hit by a wave of fear and suspicion.

"Is there something I should know?" he queried.

"Listen, mate," said Lex, pulling Pride to one side, "Perhaps we should talk about this outside. Come on, I'll explain everything."

"Why, what's so secret about this guy that you can't tell me here even though you all seem to know?"

"I'll tell you everything, mate, but trust me you will want to hear this one to one."

Satisfied with this, Pride followed Lex out the door into the hallway, passing Mega returning with a headset as he did so.

--

With only a quick questioning glance from Pride, Mega entered the control room with the requested article. He closed the door behind him, turned to the waiting small crowd and paused to glance at the new inhabitant of the table. His cool, calm countenance never wavered as he enquired after this new addition and was told, simply, that the young man was Ryan, a friend lost before the Technos had arrived. Under the cold, revengeful stare of Cloe, however, his brow wrinkled as he passed his comrade the headset.

"Tell me what I can do to help," he said to Ved, pointedly ignoring Cloe's stare, which was now throwing daggers at the back of his head, "If there is anything of course!"

"Just follow my progress; try and warn me if you think I've been spotted. Once I'm in, it's up to Jay and myself to get this done and get out again. If we can't get out ourselves, you could try breaking the link by taking the helmet off but if I can't break the controls that may do more harm than good."

"But that's how we got Ebony out!" exclaimed Amber.

"He may not have activated the internal controls by then, it would take some time and if he'd only just transferred over..."

"You mean Jay might not get out," said Ebony, her voice devoid of any sign of emotion.

"Or Ved!" hissed Cloe reproachfully.

"Well I'll just have to make sure I get the controls to work for me then, won't I?" answered Ved as he fixed the helmet onto his head and entered the darkness of Ram's world.

--

"Patch, how's it going?" called Salene as she entered the hospital ward.

"I-I'm not sure," stammered the exasperated Patch, "Dee's taking charge in the other ward. She has most of the helpers with her but she still needs more. My lot here are still unconscious, hers are up and still think they're playing 'the game'!"

"I'll go try talk 'em out of it," said Amber and hurried off to the neighbouring ward.

Patch hurried over to a nearby table and started sorting out medicine bottles and surgical implements busily.

"W-We need more supplies, more workers, more information more everything!"

"Are you coping?" asked Salene, slightly worried at Patch's more than usually nervous flurry of activity.

"I'll be fine, it's just busier that I'd expected."

He picked up a pitcher of water and a glass, a notepad and a pencil and strode over to a bed in an adjoining room. The inhabitant of the room was a young boy with tawny hair that reached just past his shoulders and looked as though it was usually tied back in a ponytail. He seemed to be asleep, but as Patch and Salene drew near it became apparent he was just staring at the opposite wall.

When Patch sat down on the side of the bed, the boy didn't move. Patch poured a glass of water and handed it to the boy. The eyes flicked down to the glass and the boy looked as if he was trying to make some difficult decision. After a long pause, he took the glass, sat up and drunk deeply. As he turned to lay the empty glass down on the table Salene started. She was sure she knew him from somewhere, but where?

--

Through in the next ward Amber and Dee struggled to separate another two 'players' of the game.

"How come you were never this bad?" shouted Dee over the racket.

"They've been hooked up longer that I have," Amber shouted back, "they'll take longer to come out of it."

"By the time they do, they'll have my staff in here as patients!"

Eventually the two fighters were separated and allowed Amber and Dee to lead them back to their beds. The fighting seemed to go in fits and starts, Dee explained. Suddenly, they would all start fighting for their lives then, after nearly beating each other, not to mention Dee and her helpers, to death, they would stop just as suddenly. It was like they were on a timer, she surmised. The only thing was there didn't seem to be any regularity or warning to when it would start.

"Add to that the fact that we've no sedatives, a decreasing number of staff and an increasing number of patients and you can see how much fun we're having!" she added sarcastically.

"I'll see if I can round up some more volunteers, I'm sure Bray and Alice will help."

With many expressions of thank from Dee, Amber left in search of Salene. She found her in the small single room with Patch and the boy. Salene turned to her with a puzzled look.

"What's up?" Amber asked, "Is he bad?"

"No, he's recovering well," she answered, "it's just, I'm sure..."

"What?"

"I'm sure I know him and he certainly seems to know me, he keeps watching me. He doesn't seem to want to say anything and he doesn't seem to be bothered by us talking about him even though we're right next to him - it's as if he couldn't hear us!"

"Maybe he can't."

Amber went to where Patch was scribbling down some notes on his patient's condition. She asked him something and took the pad and pencil. As she sat down on the other side of the bed the boy watched her, intently scrutinising her face. Suddenly he smiled in recognition and Amber smiled back and wrote something on the pad. When she passed it to him, the boy's mouth opened in excitement. He grinned broadly, nodded his head vigorously and grabbed Amber and hugged her ecstatically.

"Yes, Salene," said Amber over the boy's shoulder, "He does recognise you."

--

Lex led an apprehensive Pride back into the control room after their man-to-man chat. Alice was entering the room from the other side with a glass of what looked like very cold water, judging by the condensation dripping off it, in her hand. Bray and Siva were attempting to shake Ryan awake; Ebony and Cloe were worriedly comforting each other and watching Mega's monitor over his shoulder; Mega himself was so intent on the monitor it was debatable whether he even knew they were there.

"It's no good, he's too deep," moaned Siva. Alice smiled wickedly.

"You know, whenever I wanted to wake Ellie up," she said, "I did this!"

And so saying, she unceremoniously dumped the freezing cold water on Ryan's face. Ryan spluttered and sat up with a gasp.

"Alice!" shrieked Siva, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was. And look, I'm soaked too!"

"Aw, c'mon babe," said Lex from the doorway, increasingly amused at the scene before him,

"It worked!"

"Lex!" wailed Siva.

"Lex?" shouted Ryan, ecstatically. Before anyone could stop him he was off the table and hugging his old friend, "Man, it's great to see you again. Bray, Cloe, Alice – it's so good to see you all again. Um, you too Ebony. Who is everyone here? Where's Sal? Is she okay? Is the baby okay? C'mon tell me do I have a son or a daughter?

--

Ved gasped as, with a rush of air and the sensation of falling, he awoke in Ram's virtual world. He could feel something solid beneath his feet but, as all around him was black, he could not be sure what. He walked forward, tentatively. Whatever was supporting him continued to do so. He raised his hands and felt around him. He felt as though he was in a darkened room but light from somewhere meant that he could see his hands in front of him. He noticed that he was no longer wearing the familiar Techno uniform he was used to. Looking himself over he found he was dressed exactly as he had been before he had joined the group: as he had dressed when he was in his brother's tribe.

Wondering how Ram's mind would be working at this stage, Ved closed his eyes and tried to think. Where would the control panel be? He had gone into Ram's private reality space before – been able to see what went on in his head. That time, he'd found his then leader and mentor at home, or at least what was his home before the virus struck. He tried to picture himself back there but his mind was weak. "Concentrate" he told himself as he tried to build up the image of the garden in his mind. Eventually he saw it in his head, the wood panelled room with the picture that formed the hidden exit into Ram's garden. He opened his eyes and he was there.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Grace," Jay sobbed, "Grace, I'm sorry."

"You left me to die!" screamed the face in the mist.

Jay fell to his knees and sobbed.

"I didn't know," he gasped through the tears, "I thought I could fix things with the other tribe and still have time. I didn't know, I swear."

"I was dying, how could you not know!" It was not a question but an accusation that the spectre hissed.

"I loved you – I would never have..."

"You never loved me! Not like I loved you. I adored you: you were everything I wanted, everything I dreamed of. But you never felt the same way about me and you left me to die!"

"No, I never..." Jay broke down, his head in his hands as he sobbed uncontrollably.

Suddenly he felt the warmth of the sun on his back. He stopped crying in surprise and looked up. Grace was gone and he was in a bright, sun-filled garden with the scent of flowers on the breeze and iridescent bubbles floating through the air. He stood up and looked down at himself – he was wearing the same costume he had had on for Ram and Ebony's wedding. Looking around he saw the bower where Salene had performed the ceremony. Ebony was there in her wedding dress, clutching a bouquet and smiling over at him. He ran to her, hope rising in his heart.

"I'm so glad you're here," she said, smiling up at him when he reached her, "Ram will be so pleased to have you as his best man."

"Ebony, please," his voice started to crack as the flame of hope started to die, "don't go through with it, don't marry him."

"Why not: he says he loves me and he can give me everything I want."

"But I love you – I will give you everything I have!"

"But you don't have what I want – I want power. I want my place as Ram's Queen. He can give me that – you can't. Together Ram and I will rule the city while you will be nothing more than our lackey."

There was so much hatred and venom in Ebony's voice that Jay felt as though he'd been kicked in the stomach. He felt sick. This was Ram speaking not Ebony, he was putting words into her mouth. Jay knew this and understood it, but the words still stung him like darts thrown straight at his heart.

"You don't love me anyway," Ebony continued, now mocking him, "You don't know whom you love, in fact I don't think you even know how to love! Let's see shall we – first Grace: oops, we went away and left her dying; next me – no wait you're not quite what I'm looking for and you've a thing for Amber anyway; and finally Amber – not quite sure there are we, but don't worry, I'm sure as soon as Bray comes back she'll make it _absolutely_ clear you were no more than an interesting time filler."

"There was never anything between Amber and I – that was Ram and his technology. He set me up – I've never even looked at Amber in that way."

"Never?" said Ebony wickedly, "Well let's just see what my magic mirror says about that."

Jay spun round: suddenly he was in Ebony's room at the hotel. Her wedding dress had been replaced by her usual clothes and the wedding bouquet by the flowers Ram had given her when he asked her to marry him. She signalled to Jay to come over to the vanity mirror she was now standing beside. Jay looked in it and saw not the faked beach meeting that Ram had devised, but instead the stolen kiss that had actually happened back in the eco camp when Ebony's back had been turned.

"A little forgetful aren't we?" asked Ebony.

The real Ebony, watching the monitor in the control room, saw Jay's face pale as he looked, dumbfounded, at the proof of his guilt reflected back on him from the mirror. She focussed on the mirror, frowned slightly and gasped. She could hardly breathe as the tears rolled silently down her face.

--

Amber and Salene hurried back to the hotel, firstly to arrange more helpers for Dee as promised and secondly to tell everyone whom they had found at the hospital.

"This is fantastic," said Salene, "we've found so many of our friend's!"

"I know - first Bray and Alice, then Patch's brothers, then Cloe and Ved and now," Amber stopped, rethinking what she had been about to say, "now Ebony too!"

Amber sounded so excited Salene hardly noticed the pause.

"Maybe, at last, we can get all the Mall Rat's back together!" She said, "Maybe we can get the city sorted out now. The hospital is already well under way, it's just such a shame that we've had to use it so much already. And we'll need a decent law system too - I can't bear to tear Dee away from her work with Patch now so I suppose I'll have to give Lex his old job back. Oh, unless, of course, you think we should hold the elections for City Leader again. It should really be you, I'm sure the rest of the city would agree!"

"Sal, don't worry - you're doing fine. Besides, I don't want to be city leader - I have my son to look after and, now that Bray's back, and has finally asked me, a wedding to prepare for!"

The hotel drew near as the girls talked. Salene wondered what other surprises lay in store for them inside.

--

"Ryan, mate," said Lex, quietly, as the two slipped into an adjoining room "sit down here, there's a lot you need to know."

"Salene," cried Ryan, suddenly worried, "is she…?"

"No, no. She's fine. Ryan, sit down, you're still weak." Ryan obediently sat.

"What's happened? What's wrong, Lex?"

"Salene miscarried, Ryan. Mate, I am so sorry. I know what you must be going through."

"I know," Ryan felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach, but he knew, no matter how cliché the words were, Lex did know what he was going through: he'd been through it himself, and worse – he's lost Zandra too, at least Salene was alright.

Lex came over to him and put his hand on his old friend's shoulder; he could remember every prick of pain and loss that he had felt when Zandra died. As he did so, Ryan broke down completely.

"How did she take it?" he asked through his tears, "She was so excited about it."

"Mate, listen to me," Lex turned to face his friend, "She is okay now, right, you've got to remember that, but when it happened she took it bad, real bad. Ryan, she tried to kill herself."

"How?"

"The roof. She nearly jumped."

"But she didn't."

"No, she heard Brady crying, realised someone still needed her."

"Thank God!"

"She's changed a lot since then. She's City Leader now."

"Really, wow!" Ryan's face brightened a little, "My wife, City Leader!"

Hearing Ryan speak of Salene in this way, Lex frowned and looked down at his feet.

"What?" Ryan had noticed the look on Lex's face.

"You still need to talk to her about a few things, that's all. It's been a long time."

"There's someone else."

Lex's silence spoke volumes.

"I'll go see if she's back yet," he said eventually, "Wait here, I'll bring her to you."

--

When Salene and Amber entered the control room the others were watching the monitors. As Salene walked in they shifted uneasily; Pride looked at his feet and did not raise his head even to greet his lover. Amber walked over to Bray, who stood with his arms folded and a more than usually serious look on his face, and asked how things were while Salene, confused by his silence, watched Pride.

"Jay is still wandering around in Ram's nightmare world," he answered, "but Ved has located the controls and is trying to access them so you can stop worrying about him."

"That's good," said Amber, oblivious of what Bray, Ebony and the rest of the room had seen on the monitor, "with any luck we'll get him out of there soon."

"Them," corrected Bray.

"Oh, of course, Ved too," Amber laughed nervously as she covered her mistake, after all Jay was just another of her friends, just like Ved, she had no reason to worry about him more than anyone else, had she. Had she?

"Hmph!" Bray snorted.

Amber was about to ask Bray what that meant but was interrupted by Lex entering. He stopped, took stock of who was there and the atmosphere in the room, then turned to Salene and took her arm.

"Sal, come with me," he said, gently, "There's someone who wants to see you."

"Um, of course," she answered, assuming the person wanted to speak to the City Leader, and let him lead her, still confused by Pride's treatment of her, out of the room.

--

Out on the very edge of the city an old, small horse-drawn caravan trundled down the road. Only the horse and the city background gave away the fact that there was anything there, the contraption was so skilfully painted. The caravan itself was made of wood with canvas hanging down past the wheels to hide them. It was covered with painted trees and bushes, with the occasional bird or beast peeking out from the leaves. The artwork was so detailed and intricate that, had the caravan stopped in the forest, it would have blended in so well that it would have disappeared entirely to all but the sharpest eyes.

The inhabitant of the caravan was marginally less camouflaged than her home. A dark pine green full-length coat covered the girl, who looked a little older than Amber and Salene. Her hair was pulled back from her face so that half of it was fastened in a clasp at the top of the back of her head and the rest hung loosely down her back apart from two braids hanging down from behind her ears. The hair that hung down her back was dyed the same dark green as her coat. The braids and the hair that was pulled back were dyed a deep, dark purple. The clasp was silver and the braids had silver ribbons woven into them and were fastened with silver thread. Beneath the hem of her coat could be seen a pair of knee length, dark green, leather boots with silver embroidered designs up the sides.

Ignorant of the recent revolution the caravan and its owner trundled into the city.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I'll wait here," said Lex as he opened the door to the room where Salene's husband waited. Gingerly, Salene entered the room, wondering who could be inside.

"Ryan!" she cried and ran into her husband's waiting arms, "I thought you were dead! I thought I'd never see you again."

"It's okay, Sal," he whispered into her short red hair, "It's okay, I'm here now. I was so worried about you. Lex told me about the baby, I wish I'd been there for you, I should have been there for you."

"You couldn't help it, the Chosen took you away. After they'd gone I looked for you but I... I couldn't find you. Then the Technos arrived and everything changed."

"But I'm here now. We can start again. Everything will be alright now."

"Oh no," Salene gasped, how could she have forgotten about Pride so easily.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to start over?" Ryan paused, "There's someone else, Lex wouldn't say but I could tell."

"There was someone else, Ryan. I'm sorry - I'd given up hope, I thought you were dead."

"It's been so long I half expected this," he sat down again and stared at the floor; there was a long silence before he spoke again, "Why did you say there _was_?"

"What? Well, you asked, you had a right to know."

"No, I mean why _was_ and not _is_. You said there _was_ someone else not there _is_ someone else."  
"Oh!" Salene hadn't even realised that she'd use that turn of phrase, "I just meant, well, we've been going through a bad patch recently, I don't know where I stand with him anymore. I expect he's thinking the same thing."

"I see."

"I need to sort things out with him first, before we can even think about starting again."

"It's okay, I understand. I can wait."

--

When Alice and a few other helpers arrived at the hospital to help Dee, they found they had arrived just in time. The game players were in full battle mode and even ex-sheriff Dee had sustained an injury trying to part them.

"What do they do when you're trying to hurt them?" quizzed Alice as she pulled one of Dee's patients off of her "Is Ellie in this lot?"

"No, but then I expect they took her somewhere else, she wanted to be with Jack, wherever he is. They were both arrested."

"I know, Lex told me."

"I'm sure they'll find her."

"Well, when they do I'll be sure and give her a big hug. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to do that to Ebony!"

"You know she tried to blow up the hotel! Jay almost died!"

"Well, yeah, that I'm not too pleased about. We'd never have got out of there if it wasn't for Jay and a few others."

"Others like Mega for instance?" Dee teased; she remembered Mega and Lex bringing Alice into the control room when they found her, Alice had woken up in his arms and seemed rather taken with him.

"Of course. And what's wrong with that?"

"Oh nothing, nothing at all!"

--

Somewhere on the edge of the city, the lonely caravan stopped and set up camp for the remainder of the day and night.

--

Mega's eyes hurt. He'd been staring at the screen far too long than was good for him. He stood up, pulled off his tinted glasses with one hand and rubbed his eyes hard with the other. It was late everyone had gone to bed with the exceptions of Cloe and Ebony who were lying in crumpled heaps asleep in their chairs, and of course Ved, still sitting with the helmet on. Mega walked around the room and yawned: it had been a long day. He paused in front of the monitors.

Something was wrong. Even in the darkness he could see there was something out of place. Staring hard at one of the monitors, he could just make out the outline of an old wooden caravan with a horse lying nearby. Apart from himself, everyone else was asleep: even Ved and Jay, in their nightmare worlds. As far as he could tell, even Ram was asleep. It was left to him to find out who this intruder was. Sleepily, he pulled on a jacket and left in search of the caravan. He knew roughly what area each of the cameras covered so he knew where he was headed. He merely wondered who or what he was going to find.

--

For once there was peace in the hospital. It seemed that part of the players' programming was to sleep at night rather than fight, which meant that Dee, Patch, Alice and their companions could get some well deserved rest.

Paul walked around the sleeping wards. He peered intently at every bed, every time hoping to see a familiar face that he had missed for a long time now and every time being disappointed. He knew his sister would be different now, but he was sure he could still recognise her. He hadn't had the chance to ask Amber or Salene about Patsy so, he thought, maybe the Technos didn't get her. All he had to go on was the feeling that something had happened to her and he didn't know anyone here whom he could ask to find out. Perhaps if he could find Amber he thought, when his search yielded nothing, she could shed some light on the subject. There was no point in trying to find her now, he thought, he would ask the doctor in the morning.

--

Salene lay awake in her old room. She had to talk to Pride sometime soon, she knew. The only questions were what to say, and how to say it. She needed to know how he felt about her, if he still loved her. Only then could she decide if she still loved him. Pride had let her down badly with the game and the earrings and everything else, but he said that was over now: could she believe him? Ryan she still loved in a way - he was solid, dependable, he had always loved her, he was her husband and would have been the father of their baby. In her heart of hearts, though, she knew if she chose Ryan she would be settling for the "safe" option. Ryan didn't deserve that: he was too genuine and good hearted. She wondered, if the baby had survived, whether it would have changed anything. The baby, her baby - she could have been a mother by now. As the pain and loss came flooding back Salene doubled over on her side and, clutching her stomach, cried herself to sleep.

--

Mega could see the stars above him as he made his way towards where he had seen the caravan. The night was cold and he pulled his jacket around him tightly for warmth. It had taken him some hours to walk all the way out to the edge of the city and he was sure dawn could not be far away.

Before him now he saw the caravan like a little piece of the forest in the middle of a deserted building site. The horse that had drawn the quaint contraption still lay sleeping at one side, it's ear or hoof occasionally twitching as if it dreamed of green meadows and sweet grasses.

As he watched the horse, he felt a cool breeze pick up from the East. He turned to see the dawn colouring the sky and felt in his heart that today would be a good day, the start of something new.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Mega didn't know how long he'd been asleep; he hadn't even noticed falling asleep. His neck hurt from the cold stone wall he had been leaning against. He frowned and opened his eyes to see what had woken him. He saw a pair of dark green boots with silver designs up the sides leading to a pair of purple sheathed legs surrounded by a dark green chiffon skirt that floated high at the front around her thighs and low at the back around her calves. This covered a pine green velvet miniskirt and led up to a dark purple, velvet bodice that covered a very low cut pine green chiffon blouse with long, medieval type sleeves and laced up the front with a silver thong and had silver designs on the sides similar to those on the boots. The facts that the blouse was so low cut and the bodice laced up the front meant that Mega's gaze rested for a second too long on the top of bodice, where the thong tying the garment was noticeably more strained that elsewhere.

"There's more of me up here, you know!" The girl's green-sheathed arms folded over her perfectly flat stomach and curved waist.

"Um, yeah... sorry." Mega was still rather groggy and even more tired. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his hand over his eyes, stood up and managed to look the girl straight in the face.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked, regaining his serious composure.

"Very official," she laughed, "I'm Aeryn, I lived here before the virus and I've come back to trade."

A questioning look passed over Mega's face. It only lasted a fraction of a second but Aeryn saw it.

"In herbs and herbal medicine," she added in answer, raising an eyebrow as she did so.

Her face was covered in dust and dirt from the road but underneath a layer of grime Mega could see deep purple lips, dark green eyes surrounded by purple shadow and a silver celtic type design across her forehead. Her hair hung down in two slender braids on either side of her face behind her ears; it was dyed purple and bound and braided with silver threads. Most of her hair was dyed the same shade of purple and caught up in a silver celtic design clasp behind her head, the rest was hanging loose down her back and was dyed dark green. Something in those green eyes caught him and held his gaze for a little longer than he was comfortable with, he felt as if she could look into his mind with those eyes.

"Since you're here," she said with a smile, releasing his gaze, "you can help me set up my stock and bring it into town to the market. You can tell me who you are and what you're doing here while you at it."

--

Paul passed the note to Patch and Patch wrote down a reply directing Paul to the hotel and telling him not to call him doctor. Paul headed off to the hotel and held out the note to everyone he met, asking for Amber. Eventually he found her sitting by the pool with her knees drawn up, her arms wrapped round them and her chin resting on them.

Paul wrote asking what was wrong and she answered with a note saying Bray wasn't talking to her for some reason.

He asked if she'd done anything to hurt him. Amber started to shake her head and then stopped and wrote on the paper that there was something that might hurt him but there was no way he could know about it. Paul asked what it was. She told him about the kiss with Jay at the Eco camp. He asked if Jay could have told him. She wrote that he couldn't as he was in Ram's virtual world where all his nightmares came true, they'd been watching on the moni...

She stopped as she realised how Bray had found out. She finished the sentence then wrote how Bray had seen what had happened in his absence. Paul read it, frowned and wrote that she had to talk to Bray. Amber nodded and hurried off. Paul sat by the pool for a while then remembered why he had came looking for Amber and hurried off into the hotel after her.

Instead of finding Amber though, Paul walked round a corner and straight into Lex. Not recognising him, his old tormentor shouted something, Paul couldn't tell what and then waited for a reply. Paul wrote on the pad who he was and showed it to Lex, hoping Lex's literary skills had improved in the intervening years. The change on Lex's face was immense when he eventually puzzled out what the not said. He looked fantastically relieved and happy, grabbed Paul and hugged him close. Secretly he had always blamed himself for Paul's disappearance. He may not have found his sister, but he had found a new friend in an old enemy.

--

Under Aeryn's instruction, Mega helped remove the roof of the caravan. Underneath there was a vast array of plants, some of which Mega recognised, some he didn't. He was amazed at the workmanship that had gone into the little rooftop garden.

"Um, we don't have a market anymore," he said, trying to keep his eyes on Aeryn's as she leaned over to remove a dead leaf, the sun seemed unusually warm on the back of his neck today, "but we need all the medical help we can get at the new hospital, our supplies are out of date and running way too low for our liking."

"Lead me to the hospital then and we'll see if I can be of use. I'm glad they've got a hospital now, the trouble the Locos caused back then."

"The who?"

"An old tribe; obviously they didn't survive long then. They were led by a guy called Zoot and a girl called Ebony."

"Ebony! Oh she's still around, she was City Leader for a while before she married Ram and Salene took over."

They climbed up onto the seat and the caravan trundled off into the city under Mega's directions.

--

Salene sat in the old cafe of the mall, nursing a cup of now stone cold coffee. She knew she should be at either the hotel or the hospital helping out: she was City Leader after all. All she could think about was her dilemma, she knew it was selfish but she couldn't help it.

She had loved Pride but she still wasn't sure if she could trust him again. Ryan was her husband and she had loved him too, in a way, but more out of gratitude than anything else - she wouldn't have been here today without him. But he was still her husband and she had made a promise to him. Hearing a door open nearby, she turned to see who was there. As Pride walked into the room she stood up and turned to meet him. The look on his face made her mind up for her in a split second; she knew what she had to do.

--

As they travelled to the hospital, Mega, still exhausted, told Aeryn as much as he knew about the changes in the city over the years. She listened intently as he told her about Ram and what was happening right now in the hotel with Ved and Jay. When they reached the hospital the players were up and fighting again. After helping prevent too much damage, Aeryn was introduced to Patch and Dee whilst helping treat everyone's bruises.

"Once we're done here," she said to Patch, "I'll take you through what herbs I've got and the properties of some of them. Have you ever studied any herbalism?"

"No," Patch shook his head and pushed his glasses up on his nose, "But I'm a quick study and there are others here who can learn."

"Yeah," Dee said, noticing Patch nodding towards her, "Yeah, I'll give it a go."

"Now I've got to go back and see how Jay and Ved are getting on." Mega yawned.

"You're going nowhere," said Aeryn, "you're far too tired to be of any use to them and I want to make sure that cut is clean."

"It's fine, I'm fine."

"Aeryn is right Mega," Dee cut in, "You look exhausted. You're no good to them in this condition."

"I agree," said Patch, "Doctor's orders: you're staying here until you've rested."

"So who's going to keep an eye on Ram if you've got me in here?"

"Siva can do that," said Dee folding her arms and looking every part the hospital matron.

"She won't be able to get them out of there on her own. They need me to do that. You can't keep me here against my will, not for feeling tired."

Dee was about to say something but Aeryn stopped her.

"Well, we can't keep you against your will as you say. But you should still get some coffee before you go at least. Will you do that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I could do with some coffee."

"Good. Now, why don't you take a walk round the ward with Alice while we're getting that? See if you recognise any symptoms or people."

Alice was only too happy to oblige.

"You're not going to let him leave in that condition!"

"No, Dee, I'm not. You make the coffee; I've got to get something from my caravan.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ryan, Lex and Paul had been working all morning. One or two at a time they had removed all of Ram's test subjects from the room where they had found Ryan the day before. Lex had tried to explain to Paul what had happened with Patsy when the Chosen were in power, but had eventually given up as he couldn't figure out how to spell "spying" and got Ryan to write it out for him. Now Paul stuck with the two old friends and helped them in their work, always hoping that the next person they found would be his sister.

As he and Lex carried a young man down the stairs, closely followed by Ryan carrying a small girl in his arms, Salene and Pride entered the hotel. Ryan glanced over at his wife then firmly kept his eyes on the stairs. As the small party filed into the control room with their latest casualties, Salene put her hand on Ryan's arm and, once he had laid the girl down on the table, led him out into the corridor and into the room where she had first seen him since his recovery.

--

Alice and Dee lifted Mega onto one of the beds and laid him down on his back.

"What did you give him?" exclaimed Dee, "He's out cold!"

"Valerian tincture," Aeryn answered, "It's a very good sedative. Alice, can you get me some dressings, I want to see to this wound before I go. Patch, can you help me with his shirt."

Patch didn't seem to mind someone else taking charge for a change and he readily obeyed.

"Where are _you_ going?" Dee asked.

"Once I've got himself here fixed up and you guys set up with the herbs, don't worry, I've plenty books there on what's used for what symptoms, I want to go and see what's happening up at the old Horton and Bailey. I may be able to get those boys out of there."

"What do you know about Ram's wonderful virtual world!" mocked Alice, returning with the dressings and then, noticing Mega's bare chest, "Nice!"

"Alice!" cried Dee.

"No, she's right."

"I was talking about the 'nice'!"

"So was I, but don't worry, I know a good deal about computers and if I'm right about something, a lot more than you might think."

--

Amber had been working with Bray in an attempt to get him to talk to her. As he lifted one girl down from a frame, he collapsed under her weight and Amber saw a sweat break out on his forehead.

"You shouldn't be doing this," she told him, "You're still too weak."

"I'm fine," he muttered, shrugging off the hand she placed on his shoulder, "Someone has to get these people out of here."

Resolutely going back to work, Bray hauled himself to his feet with his latest charge and marched out of the room. Amber felt like crying; to find him again only to lose him like this and for what – a split second of weakness when he'd been gone so long, when she had all but given up hope of ever seeing him again! Then the pain subsided into anger – how dare he treat her like this, he _had_ been gone for a long time and she _hadn't_ known if he would ever return; if it had been the other way round, Jay would never have reacted like this!

Realising the comparison she just made, and between whom, made Amber stop. She had been releasing a small child from a frame and the child now hung limply in her arms as she stood wondering what could make her put Jay above the father of her own child at a time like this. Maybe she was just worried about him – he had been in the virtual world for many hours now, and Mega had disappeared too, maybe that was it, maybe.

--

When Aeryn had taken Patch and Dee quickly through her mother's books on herbs and their uses, and had dressed Mega's wound leaving him in Alice's care, she unhitched her horse from the caravan and rode to the old hotel. She took with her a small pack of already prepared dressings and remedies, there was a good chance she would need them if her suppositions were correct. She walked, unhindered, through the hall and into the corridor of the control room. She knew the hotel well from before the virus, she had had a Saturday job there as a chambermaid. Turning a corner she walked straight into Lex, who didn't seem too displeased by the event.

"Well, well. An intruder," he smiled, looking her over, "and a very pretty one at that. How may I be of assistance?"

The sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable; Lex knew who belonged and who didn't. He was slightly taken aback, therefore, when Aeryn took him up on his offer and ordered him to escort her to the control room.

When she entered the room, everyone looked at Lex as if to say "who the heck is that and what's she doing here". Lex shrugged, walked over to stand by the monitors and watched Aeryn intently; Siva could have hit him. When Lex saw the look his girl was giving him, he decided there was work elsewhere that needed doing and disappeared hastily.

"You must be Siva," said Aeryn, "Mega told me about you. Can you get me a headset, I need to speak to Ram."

"To Ram!" Siva cried, "Are you mad? Don't you think we've enough people stuck in there?"

"I won't get stuck and, if I can talk to him, I might be able to get him to let Jay and Ved go. I know him, I know how he's done what he's done and I know how to get through to him. Believe me when I say this – I am the only person left who can possibly get through to him."

--

Mega woke up and looked around him. He was still in the hospital and, judging by the light, it was late afternoon, possibly early evening. As he sat up he winced; the cut in his side was deep and, although it had been well bandaged, still hurt a good deal. He turned his head as he heard footsteps behind him. It was Alice.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," she crooned, "Awake at last are we?"

"What did she do, drug me?"

"Something like that. We wouldn't have been able to keep you otherwise."

"I don't think I'll ever accept a coffee from her again!"

"It was for your own good you know," Alice sat down on the bed beside him, "How's your side?"

"Painful."

"We pulled a piece of glass out, you know. Not a big piece, but it made quite a deep cut. Dee thinks it was from one of the windows that got broken yesterday. We thought we'd got all the bits and pieces away from them but obviously not. It's just as well you let us take a look."

"I didn't get much choice in the matter, did I!" Mega quipped before trying to stand up, "I have to get to the hotel. I've been here far too long."

"They're here."

"What!"

"Jay and Ved. They're here. They're out and Ram's gone, for good I believe. You can stop playing the hero and rest. You still need to let that wound heal."

"How? How can they be out? Siva couldn't have managed it on her own, there's no way. Ram kept her at too much of a distance."

"I believe it was all down to your new found friend. She persuaded Ram to let them go."

"He _let_ them go!"

"Yup, he let the boys go and let himself go too. There had to be someone else in there for his mind to survive, what with his body being dead and all."

"And he listened to her. He voluntarily let them go at her command!"

"Not her command exactly. She just brought him to his senses, that's all. I still don't know why she could get him to do it either. You'll have to ask her or one of the others from the control room. They seem to know what's going on."

He got up to do just that and winced again. Alice pushed him back onto the bed and ordered him to stay put while she got Siva, then she disappeared. Mega stayed behind on the bed as he had been told to. He wasn't feeling quite fit enough to argue with Alice.

Alice found Siva and Ryan leaning over Ved and getting him settled in a bed. Cloe stood, looking very pale, in the corner, staring at her unconscious boyfriend. When Alice entered the room and whispered something in Siva's ear, the ex-Techno left and Cloe took her place at Ved's side.

"He'll pull through, Cloe," said Ryan, soothingly, "You'll see."

Cloe nodded tearfully and stayed, clasping Ved's hand, sitting on the edge of his bed. Ryan turned to Alice and led her out, suggesting, as he did so, that they give them some time alone.

"How are you?" Alice asked him once they were out of sight of Ved's room.

"I'm lucky, I wasn't hooked up to the game. My program had me flying all over the place. If I keep busy the urge to take off doesn't bother me so much."

"Yeah, I was hooked up to a deep diving program. After that I don't think I'll ever go swimming again!" Alice paused, wondering how to put the next question, "But that's not what I was talking about and you know it. Has she said anything yet?"

"Yeah, yeah she has," Ryan's brow furrowed as he remembered Salene's words.

Suddenly Alice doubled up and cried aloud in pain. Worried enough about Alice to forget his own troubles, Ryan helped her into a nearby single room.

"What's wrong with me?" Alice screamed.

"Alice," said Ryan, beginning to panic; he had seen these pains before, "is there any chance you could be pregnant?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Alice's waters broke. There was no doubt now, there was a baby on the way.

"Uh, you get on the bed," Ryan was now definitely in a panic, "and I'll go and get Patch."

"Don't you leave me," screamed Alice, "I am not doing this on my own!"

She screamed again as the contractions tore through her like hot blades. Ryan, not knowing what to do or who to turn to, helped Alice onto the bed.

"What do I do?" Ryan asked her.

"Weren't you there when Brady was born?" Alice yelled; the contractions were coming thick and fast now.

"That was four years ago," he cried, "and everyone else was there too!"

There wasn't much time for argument as the baby made its painful and very loud entrance into the world within the short space of an hour. It was an hour that seemed like an eternity to Alice and just a few seconds to her poor, bewildered 'midwife', Ryan. When it was all over Ryan pulled off his shirt and, wrapping the child in it, handed it to its mother.

"It's a boy," he said, "and I think we'll have no trouble guessing who the father is!"

The baby boy had a thick shock of ginger hair just like Ned's. As she looked at him, Alice's eyes filled with tears remembering how this child had lost his father even before anyone suspected his existence. The irony of the event stuck her too. Here she was: holding a child who had lost its father, delivered by a father who had lost his child. When she looked at Ryan she found that, though he was trying to hide it, he was also crying his big heart out.

"I think you'd better get Patch or someone to tie off this cord," she said, giving him an opportunity to escape.

"Yeah, I'll get some clean towels or something too."

After Ryan had left, hastily pulling the back of his hands across his eyes as he did so, Alice turned her attention back to her new son.

"Just like your old man aren't you," she cooed, "he wouldn't wait for anyone either."

--

Bray still wasn't talking to Amber. She couldn't even get him to tell her what he had seen; for all she knew it may have been one of Ram's tricks but something in her heart warned her otherwise and she kept out of Ebony's way because of it. If only she could get him to talk to her, she was sure once she explained herself he would forgive her. It was only one kiss, after all; and, for that matter, at a time when she thought he was gone for good. She wandered into the control room. It was empty now; everyone had either been taken to the hospital or was helping there. Thankfully, the hall of test subjects in which Ryan had been found had been used for a different program, a flying one according to Ryan and some of the others who were now awake and helping. At least that meant there were many more people to help restrain those who had been hooked up to the game, as she herself had been so long ago. Day by day more of the players would come out of their trances and there would be fewer patients and more helpers. She tried to make this thought cheer her up but inside she worried about Jay, and Ved too of course. She always had to remind herself about that - why? Suddenly hearing voices, Amber darted behind a wall just in time to see Bray and Ebony enter the room.

"I can't believe you're actually on my side," she heard Ebony say.

"I can't believe they did what they did," her future husband answered, "I half expected Amber to have found someone else, especially being back in the Eco's again, but I never though she'd go for someone else's guy, even if..."

"Even if I deserved it," Ebony said, wryly, "Gee thanks."

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Bray put his arm around Ebony's shoulders, "I meant even if he was, you know, down on one knee and all!"

So that was it, Amber thought. They thought Jay had been proposing to her. She had entirely forgotten the fact that he was kneeling when they kissed, of course it must have looked like that! As she slumped against the wall in realisation, she heard the two pick up what they came for and leave again.

--

Mega sat listening to Siva as she explained the happenings of that morning to him. So, he thought, Aeryn was Ram's cousin, his only cousin at that. No wonder he listened to her, from the sounds of it they had been extremely close; Ram had looked up to her as an older sister. From what Siva could make out, Ram and Aeryn's fathers had been very close brothers. They made a habit of sharing all their knowledge and skills with each other's children as well as their own. This meant that everything Ram knew about computers, Aeryn knew too. That was how she had known the only way of getting Ved and Jay out of the system. That was why she had had to go in herself and persuade her last blood relative to kill himself to spare two young men she didn't even know. Mega could hear the respect for Aeryn resounding on Siva's voice as she related every detail of Ram and Aeryn's last conversation.

It appeared that the last time Ram had seen his cousin, through a videophone because of the virus, she had just buried her parents and seemed to have contracted the virus herself when nursing them. Ram had thought her dead and himself alone by the time his parents were both gone. It was that sense of loneliness that had pushed him over the edge from genius into madness. Siva warned Mega that only Jay, Ved, Cloe, Ebony and themselves knew all these details; everyone else had been expelled from the room and knew nothing more than that Aeryn had known Ram, known how he did things and been able to talk him round. When Siva left, Mega sat on the edge of his bed and went through all this in his mind. He didn't hear Lex walk up before him until he was no more than a few feet away.

"How's the side, mate," said Lex.

"It'll heal."

"No doubt. I wouldn't be surprised if you were getting special treatment in here, that was quite a find you made."

"What?"

"Aeryn, of course," Lex sat down on the bed next to him, "If you hadn't found her and brought her to us, we might never have gotten those two out of there. Not that that's her only good point, mind you!"

Mega knew where this was going. He looked over his shoulder, said "Oh, hi Siva," and was amused to see Lex jump up like a scalded cat and whirl round, ready to sweet talk his way back into his girl's good books again.

"Not funny," muttered Lex, remaining standing where he could get a clear view of danger approaching, "anyway, you can't really blame me. C'mon you've noticed it too, surely. I'm not the only one here who has. Am I?"

Mega raised an eyebrow and Lex shook his head and stormed off, perhaps not the only one who had notice Aeryn in such a way, but certainly the only one willing to admit it. When Lex was out of sight, Mega eased himself up off the bed and grabbed his shirt. He felt like going for a walk, away from people who were going to ask him how his side was every time he moved or spoke. Wandering along a corridor to a stairwell, he headed for the roof. At least there, he thought, he would be able to get some time to himself without being nursed to death at every turn.

Several times he had to lean against the wall of the stairwell and catch his breath. When he reached the top he sat down on the step for a few minutes before going out then, opening the door to the wide, flat roof, he stepped out into a cool breeze that fanned his open shirt and refreshed his mind.

"You know you shouldn't be out of bed yet," said a voice.

Mega spun round to find himself facing Aeryn barely a foot away from him. She had obviously had the same idea and been here before him, there was no way he wouldn't have seen her if she'd followed him. There were so many things he had wanted to ask her; now they stood facing each other, however, he couldn't think of a single word to say.

--

There was a mixture of overjoyed, shocked and surprised reactions as Ryan related the tale of the young child's birth. Everyone present was keen to help, although Ryan noticed that Salene held back from holding the baby. He was aware how much his return had brought back the feelings when Sal had tried to kill herself and wished she would let him in closer, talk to him about it even, but he knew now that wasn't his place any more, she had moved on and he had to do the same.

As everyone cooed over the baby and congratulated his mother, no one noticed Cloe walk in until she shouted at them to be quiet and listen to her.

"I think he's dead," she said simply.

Patch and Dee raced out of the room and down the corridor.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Aeryn was still wearing her green velvet mini, but the purple tights had been replaced by black ones, the green skirt and purple bodice were gone and the green blouse had been replaced by a black, skin-tight top with see-though black chiffon sleeves that, again hung down in medieval fashion. The purple in her hair had also been replaced by black and was now all fastened back in a French roll with a fan of black and green strands spiking out from it and two single black locks hanging down to frame her face. Her makeup and markings were gone apart from some black eyeliner. She looked sad and her features were more severe than they had been that morning, but he still found her beautiful, especially her eyes.

"Siva told me about Ram," he managed to say, eventually, "I'm sorry."

"So am I," she took a step nearer, as she said it, "How much did she tell you?"

"That you had been cousins, close cousins, and how you knew how to get through to him."

She nodded and turned to go.

"Stop."

Aeryn wasn't used to being ordered around by anyone, and she usually did exactly the opposite to what they wanted her to if anyone tried it, but this time she stopped. There was something in the way he had said it that made her stop, as if he had reached out and touched her, laid a hand on her shoulder or something. Slowly she turned to face him.

"Was there something else?" she asked.

"Siva said you promised Ram something, but she didn't catch what. She didn't want to ask as she thought she might be intruding. I want to know, what was it?"

"How did my cousin die?"

"What?" Mega was surprised at the way she changed the subject so quickly, "You know he was ill, I told you that."

"He was ill, yes, but it wasn't his illness that killed him," she began circling round him, slowly, while he stayed with his eyes fixed on the door.

"How do you know that?"

"He told me, just after he had let the boys go. He said he had been shot, with one of his own weapons and by one of his own men," she was back in front of him now and looking straight into his eyes.

"What did you promise him?" Mega was starting to get worried: Aeryn on a revenge mission could be dangerous, very dangerous.

She didn't answer and turned to leave. He reached her just as she reached the door to the stairwell and slammed his fist on it hard. Aeryn turned to face him as he blocked her escape with his other hand.

"What did you promise him?"

She held his eyes for a second then looked off to the side as if deciding what to do next. Waiting just long enough for him to let his guard drop slightly, she brought her arm up against his shoulder and knocked him sideways. Making a grab for her, he pulled her with him so that they both fell between the big, old air conditioning fans that squatted in a grid-like fashion about the roof. After rolling for a few yards they came to rest near the rails around the edge of the roof. Aeryn looked up at her captor, the only man to outsmart her in a fight and a wounded man at that. For a few moments they looked at each other while they caught their breath, then Mega repeated his question:

"What did you promise him? To revenge his murder?"

"Something like that."

"What does that mean?"

"It was you, wasn't it? You killed him. You thought you'd got to him in time but you hadn't and Jay got trapped trying to close the program. That's why you wanted to get back there so much - you blamed yourself."

"What did you mean, 'something like that'? What was it you promised him?"

"He wanted me to promise him that I would kill the man who killed him."

"And you did?" Mega's senses reeled. The thought of Aeryn being sworn to kill him struck him with a strange irony.

"I swore to him that his killer would die in my arms; no more, no less."

Mega still couldn't speak. He had expected Ram to try something to take revenge, but not only on one person.

"If you don't let me get up now," Aeryn continued, "you might find that happens a bit sooner than I thought it would."

He looked at her and was suddenly aware of the burning pain in his side; the gash had reopened in the fight. He could feel the blood seeping through the dressing and, he supposed, through Aeryn's clothes. He hadn't even noticed how much of his weight he was putting on her, now his arms gave way and he let himself fall on top of her. She rolled him over pulled back his shirt to get a better look at the dressing. Much of the bandage was now red, saturated with Mega's blood. He reached his hand up behind her back and, trailing his fingertips up to her neck, brought her face down to where he could focus on it.

"Why didn't you do as he asked? Why didn't you swear to kill me? You have the right to I suppose."

"Do you know how much I wanted to find out that it wasn't you, that it was someone I hadn't met or didn't like? Someone I hated even. Instead, I knew, it was the exact opposite."

He held her gaze for a few seconds then, slowly, he pulled her face downward and raised his own. Briefly, gently, their lips met, then he slumped backwards and was still. Aeryn pressed her ear to his chest then raced to the door and down the stairs.

* * *

This story continues with Life Goes On: /s/4530419/1/YouLiveYouLearnTrilogyPart2LifeGoesOn


End file.
